Fran Chardo's Work Experience

  • Dauphin County District Attorney (2018-present)

    • Serve as chief law enforcement officer for Dauphin County, overseeing an office with 31 prosecutors and 12 detectives, that conducts over 6000 felony and misdemeanor prosecutions at the Court of Common Pleas level each year

  • First Assistant District Attorney (2003-2017)

    •  Responsible for the prosecution of jury and non-jury trials, including over 135 jury trials; principal area of responsibility is the prosecution of murders and other violent felonies and conducting grand jury investigations. Supervised deputy district attorneys, reviewing proposed plea agreements and evaluating the performance of the attorneys. Appellate practice includes writing briefs and argument before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and Superior Court and filing briefs in the Supreme Court of the United States.

  • Chief Deputy District Attorney, Dauphin County (2000-2003)

  • Senior Deputy District Attorney, Dauphin Count (1996-2000)

  • Deputy District Attorney, Dauphin County (1994-1996)
  • York County Special Assistant District Attorney (2002)
    • Appointed as special prosecutor in connection with the trial resulting from the 1969 race riot murder of Lillie Belle Allen.
  • Special Assistant District Attorney, Montgomery County (2003)
    • Appointed as special prosecutor in major drug investigation.
  • Adjunct Professor, Widener University Commonwealth School of Law (2005; 2013-present)
    • Teach criminal law and advanced criminal procedure to law students
  • Instructor, Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law (2004-present)
    • Serve as an instructor for law students in trial advocacy
  • Faculty Member, National College of District Attorneys, Columbia, South Carolina (2004-2011)
    • serve as trial advocacy instructor for prosecutors
  • Instructor, Public Safety Institute, Harrisburg Area Community College (1995-2004)
    • Instructed police academy cadets on criminal law and procedure

BAR ADMISSIONS:

  • Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1993)
  • United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (1995)
  • United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1996)
  • Supreme Court of the United States (1997)

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS:

  • Board Certified in Criminal Trial Advocacy, National Board of Trial Advocacy
  • Past President, Honorable William W. Lipsitt Chapter of the American Inns of Court
  • Member, National District Attorneys Association
  • Vice-President, Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association
  • Member, Education and Training Committee of the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute
  • Chair, Best Practices Committee, Dauphin County District Attorneys Association
  • Chair, Court Relations Committeee, Dauphin County Bar Association
  • Former Chair, Law Day Committee, Dauphin County Bar Association (2003-2018)
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